Theatre by the Lake Archives - Page 2 of 2

Around the World in 80 Days – Theatre by the Lake

7Apr

By Karen Morley-ChesworthNo Comments

North West

Around the World in 80 Days – Theatre by the Lake

The new season at Theatre by the Lake has kicked off with a classic production of Around the World in 80 Days which surprises, delights and has audiences in hysterics. Like the ticking clock timing Phileas Fogg’s journey to circumnavigate the globe in 80 days or less, the timing of the action is precise. From the opening scenes, depicting Fogg’s meticulous daily routine, the choreography of this piece of theatre is set high and is delivered with style and humour. This hilarious production is nothing like the recent TV adaptation of Jules Verne’s classic book. This is the story of a man’s wager that he could travel around the world in 80 days - and failure would mean a loss of his colossal personal wealth. Stefan Adegbola is so perfectly cast as Fogg, combining the high-handed, aloofn...

<strong>The Borrowers – Theatre by the Lake</strong>

5Dec

By Karen Morley-ChesworthNo Comments

North West

The Borrowers – Theatre by the Lake

The tiny people who live in the walls and under the floorboards make a return visit to Theatre by the Lake as The Borrowers provides family entertainment this Christmas and into the new year, writes Karen Morley-Chesworth. The adaptation of Mary Norton’s children’s classic by Theresa Heskins follows the adventures of Pod, Homily and their daughter Arrietty whose life is turned upside down when discovered by the humans living in the house where they live under the floor. This re-telling, with the permission of the deFaria Company plays around with the scale of life between the tiny Borrowers, the human child & adults - as well as the wildlife in the open fields surrounding the Borrower’s home. With the use of puppets and set scale, we zoom in and out of the two worlds which collid...

The Beauty Queen of Leenane – Theatre by the Lake

27Oct

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

North West

The Beauty Queen of Leenane – Theatre by the Lake

The wind and rain of an autumn evening in Cumbria sets the scene perfectly for Theatre by the Lake's new production of The Beauty Queen of Leenane - a tragedy that unfolds in a small rural community in Ireland, writes Karen Morley-Chesworth. The setting of an isolated cottage overshadowed by the mountain range behind captures the claustrophobic existence of Maureen played by Elizabeth Appleby, a 40-something virgin, reluctantly the 'carer' for her controlling mother, Mag played by Susan Twist. Twist is a brilliant character actor who brings this woman to life. No one in the audience would want to be trapped in that room with Mag - but also no one in the audience could fail to laugh and cry with and for her as the relationship between mother and daughter reaches breaking point. App...

27Jun

By Karen Morley-ChesworthNo Comments

North West

The Climbers – Theatre by the Lake

The Climbers by Carmen Nasr was due to receive its world premiere in 2020 -and it has been well worth the wait to see this production which transports us between the UK and the Himalayan Mountain range below the summit of Everest, writes Karen Morley-Chesworth. During lockdown, Theatre by the Lake hosted a live online read-through of the first half of this play, with the actors in their bedrooms and living rooms across England. This left me desperate to know what happened next. Now, to see the staging of this play, the script is elevated to another level. Charlie and Yasim Harris are climbers. Yasmin has had a burning desire to climb Everest since a child. Together they have planned the trip of a lifetime, however, two go and only one returns. Charlie's mother, Celia Harris wants ...

4Apr

By Karen Morley-ChesworthNo Comments

North West

Swim – Theatre by the Lake

Sitting in The Studio just a few yards from Derwentwater the urge to run down to the shore and into the icy water is extreme after Liz Richardson’s performance of her play Swim, writes Karen Morley-Chesworth. This is a new version of the production performed at HOME in Manchester and at the Edinburgh Festival before the lockdowns. Originally with a cast of other performers, sharing the experiences of a group of wild swimmers, during the following couple of years, Liz revisited her work and focused on the true-life experience of her and her friend Lisa B. This one-woman performance works beautifully, distilling their intertwined story into the one voice. The setting for this production at Theatre by the Lake in Keswick is simple and effective. A chained curtain backdrop upon which the...

2Mar

By Karen Morley-ChesworthNo Comments

North West

The Glee Club – Theatre by the Lake

The wheels of the pit shaft create the backdrop for this coming of age play, writes Karen Morley-Chesworth. Music has always been at the heart of mining communities - and the latest production at Theatre by the Lake takes us back to 1962 to join the five pitmen who aren't in the brass band but singers in The Glee Club. This is a beautiful ensemble of five actors who take us back to when coal was king and the men who dug it out, deep in the bowels of the earth, were hard-working, hard-drinking and resolved issues with their fists. The Glee Club is an outlet for emotion and sensitivity that appears on the surface to be missing from the lives of these men - and we get to enjoy some great singing. Under the veneer of laughter, the older men are still scared by their loss and experi...

Casting announced for new version of Kes at Bolton Octagon and Theatre by the Lake

31Jan

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

NEWS

Casting announced for new version of Kes at Bolton Octagon and Theatre by the Lake

Casting has been announced for a new version of Barry Hines’ northern classic Kes co-produced by Bolton’s Octagon Theatre and Theatre by the Lake in Keswick. It’s set in a 1960s working-class Yorkshire mining town depicting the struggles of 15-year-old Billy Casper. Bullied and neglected, life isn’t easy for Billy, but when he finds Kes, a kestrel hawk who he cares for and trains, it gives Billy a passion and freedom that has been missing in his life. This stage version is adapted by Robert Alan Evans, and will be directed by award-winning theatre director and one of The Stage’s 25 Theatremakers to watch in 2022, Atri Banerjee. A trio of performers will star in this poignant coming of age story with Jake Dunn will make his professional stage debut playing the role of troubl...

Tom’s Midnight Garden – Theatre by the Lake

8Dec

By Karen Morley-ChesworthNo Comments

North West

Tom’s Midnight Garden – Theatre by the Lake

Nothing heralds the start of Christmas like the family production at Theatre by the Lake - and this year they added some festive sparkle to the children's classic Tom's Midnight Garden, writes Karen Morley-Chesworth. Not a traditional Christmas story, but one loved by all ages, making this the ideal family visit to the theatre. Director Liz Stevenson has brought some real drama to this tale, where time past and present come together on the stroke of 13 from the grandfather clock in the hall. The characters from across time create an eerie image in a beautifully choreographed scene at the opening of the production. The minimalist set crates the moves through time and into the midnight garden with flying flowers and a greenhouse. However, it is the snowfall in the second part of thi...

17Oct

By Karen Morley-ChesworthNo Comments

North West

Home, I’m Darling – Theatre by the Lake

Drama and comedy returns to the stage of Theatre by the Lake with an entertaining play that looks at how we all pick and choose our own narrative of reality - shaped by our rose-tinted glasses approach to history writes Karen Morley-Chesworth. The main theatre is in the round for this production of Laura Wade’s deconstructed rom-com - providing a viewpoint on every perspective of a marriage cloaked in fantasy and collapsing under the weight of pretence. The relationship between Judy and Johnny has been captured within a 1950s bubble - like an insect trapped in amber. Living in the 21st century, they both have a passion for the 50’s style, fashions and music yet take it one step further to take on the philosophy and social norms of the era. From career woman to housewife carer, Jud...

The Curtain Rises on Live Performance at The Dukes

24Sep

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

The Curtain Rises on Live Performance at The Dukes

Following a successful reopening of their cinema back in August, Lancaster arts organisation The Dukes have announced that audiences will be able to enjoy the return of live performance at their venue this autumn. The season of live theatre and comedy will be housed in Moor Space, The Dukes’ second site on Moor Lane, beginning with a hop back on board the hilarious and heart-warming comedy-drama Ladies That Bus from Tuesday September 29th – Thursday October 1st. Inspired by the passengers, travels and tales of the Route 555 bus between Lancaster and Keswick, and originally borne out of a collaborative project between The Dukes, Kendal’s Brewery Arts Centre and Theatre by the Lake, the popular play made its debut at The Dukes in February this year to critical acclaim. Audiences wil...